Friday, November 05, 2004

Free Rides to the Peace Bridge!

Drop me a note if you need a ride!

As the dust settles . . .

Here are some of my thoughts on the election.

First of all, I am thrilled with the outcome. The validation of the President and the growth in the GOP margins in the House and Senate are heartening. I had the opportunity to go door to door in Ohio, work at the Erie PA headquarters, and make calls to voters in New Mexico. I will cherish those memories.

There are a lot of reasons for the President's vicotry, and I will try to list them in descending order of importance.

The President. President Bush has led us through one of the most difficult times in our nation's history, and through it all he made decisions that he felt were best for the country rather than best for his re-election prospects. He is a man of integrity and courage.

The Vice President. Although he was (unfairly) a lightning rod for criticism, he remained unflappable, and a stalwart ally for the President. He will go down in History as the most powerful VP ever simply because he was the first to put any of his own political aspirations aside to help push the President's agenda.

The First Lady. Laura Bush connected with America in a way that only Barbara Bush and Jackie Kennedy have done in my lifetime. What an incredible asset - she is real, and she is a lady. The comparison to the alternative was starker than the comparison to the two Presidential candidates.

The GOTV operation. Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Mehlman, Racicot et al ran the best campaign in my lifetime. They stayed on message and made very few mistakes.

Other observations:
This election marked the highwatermark of the paleomedia. Evan Thomas' expectation of the media being worth 15 points to Kerry was probably 50% high. ABC and CBS in particular had their lunch eaten by bloggers. CNN, part of the mainstream, but not necessarily paleomedia saw its influence wane as well. The NYTimes and the birdcage liner folks will face a steeper decline in influence.

The internet has long held the promise of a more informed electorate. the ability for people to investigate for themselves things like voting records, transcripts of past speeches and appearances had the potential to keep them all honest. This election is probably the first to see the internet take a major place in campaigns. From Dean's onloine fundraising to the bloggers who exposed the fraud of CBS, to the Vets and POWs whose internet presence forced the paleomedia to take notice all impacted the election in a big way.

Kerry to took great pains to point out his beleif that he should not force his morality on others. Had the judges in his state and the Mayor of San Franciso felt the same way, the red states would not have been nearly as galvanized.

Even the Blue states passed resolutions banning Gay Marriage.

Early indications are that the left still doesn't get it. Consider:

I say forget introspection. It's time to be honest about our antagonists. My predecessors in this conversation are thoughtful men, and I honor their ideas, but let's try something else. I grew up in Missouri and most of my family voted for Bush, so I am going to be the one to say it: The election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry. I suppose the good news is that 55 million Americans have evaded the ignorance-inducing machine. But 58 million have not. (Well, almost 58 million—my relatives are not ignorant, they are just greedy and full of classic Republican feelings of superiority.)
He says Red State people are dumb, and before three sentences pass, he refers to Republican feelings of superiority!

If the President is successful in advocating for school vouchers, or a tax credit for K-12 tuition, and if Condoleeza Rice is on the 2008 ticket, African Americans may no longer be a homogeneous voting bloc. Bush solidified his support within the Black community, but with the above, they may come back to the party of Lincoln for good.

Life is good. The economy is growing.

And the President's margin just grew.

God Bless America!


Thursday, November 04, 2004

This Guy IS a Hoot

Areln Specter, who sits in his office because the President, angering many of his supporters, didn't do anything to help SPecter's challenger in the primary.Now Specter is trying to assert himself by ironically stating that he doesn't want the president to nominate any people who are pro-life, but at the same time wants judges who reflect the values of the people. Hello? Did you see the map Arlen?

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

I would be happy to pack their bags . . .

Can you beleive this actually got published? I am still waiting for Alec Baldwin to leave from last time...

Sunday, October 31, 2004

Higher Ed- the Free and Open Exchnage of Ideas Redux

Perhaps someone should tell this part time prof a thing or two about civil discourse.

Any question what bumper sticker is on his camel?

TheGreat commentary on the Osama tape. The only thin spearating the tape from a Kerry commercial was "The infidel Bush has lost more jobs than anyone since herbert Hoover" and "Did I mention Mary Cheney is a lesbian?"

Good News

Don't expect this story to get any play in the Mainstream media.